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Mass
Inhabitants article |image=Mass-BO2.jpg |caption=The Mass in Blood Omen 2. |introduced= Blood Omen 2 (2002) |appearances= Blood Omen 2 }} The Mass was an ancient, powerful and presumably unique life-form that was featured in Blood Omen 2. It was originally used by Ancient Hylden in the Vampire-Hylden war who intended to use its mental powers to attack their enemies as part of the Device. The Device was incomplete at the time of the Hylden banishment, though the immortal Mass survived inside the Device for centuries, eventually being uncovered by the Hylden Lord in the Era following Blood Omen. In his guise as the 'Sarafan Lord', the Hylden general gained control of Nosgoth and ordered a Glyph magic network to be constructed to complete the Device. When Kain returned, the Glyph magic network was virtually complete and on the advice of the Builder of the Device, Kain killed the Mass to prevent The Device from being used. Profile The Mass was an 'eternal' creature that, although naturally 'harmless' had potent mental powers and was able to kill with its thoughts. Kain: "So this Device was never finished. And yet the creature still lives within it?"//'Builder:' "It was dubbed “The Mass.” It is eternal and deadly, yet harmless without a channel for it’s mind. We never completed the weapon. We needed a way to send its energy out of the Device and into the land itself. We needed a conduit spread all throughout the cities, a network, if you will. Once this network was created, the Device would channel the mental energy of the Mass, and send death upon our enemies."''Crystal Dynamics. ''Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript. At some point in the Vampire-Hylden war era, the Mass was presumably captured or created by the Ancient Hylden who intended to use its mental energy as a weapon against their enemies. To this end, the Hylden (specifically the Builder) designed and constructed the Device to house the Mass and attune its mind to eliminate all life-forms not of the Hylden race. However, for the Device to be effective it required a conduit to project the thoughts of the Mass onto and before it was completed, the Builder was imprisoned in the Eternal Prison and the Pillars were raised, banishing the Hylden to the Demon Realm. Builder: "Yes, yes… The Device was built as a weapon, eons ago when two races warred with each other for dominance of Nosgoth. It houses an ancient creature, who’s very mind is capable of killing any living thing with but a thought. The Device was to channel the mental energy of this creature, and direct it onto Nosgoth. It would attune the creature’s mind to kill all living creatures except for my race. Before it could be completed, however, I was imprisoned here, and the rest of my race was banished to another, far more terrible, realm." Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript. "As you approach the container, the prisoner crawls free. This creature is part of the race that built the machine lying beneath Meridian. It was intended to harness the power of an eternal creature called "the Mass," which is capable of killing with a single thought.//Kain realizes that the network of Glyphs installed throughout Meridian are meant to channel the 'Mass' power. The creature explains that the only way to destroy the machine is to kill the Mass by using his blood. He offers his blood to Kain in exchange for a release from his suffering." Prima Games. Prima's Official Strategy Guide to Blood Omen 2 (2002). Page 68. ISBN 0-7615-3774-0 For Centuries, the immortal Mass and the Device housing it remained hidden underground beneath Meridian until the Hylden attempt to re-enter Nosgoth's Material Realm reached a head in the [[Events of Blood Omen|events of ''Blood Omen]], with the Hylden Lord's possession of Janos Audron. In the ''[[Era following Blood Omen|Era following ''Blood Omen]], after using Janos to open the Hylden Gate the Hylden Lord returned his natural body to the Material Realm. Taking on the guise of the Sarafan Lord and founding the Sarafan, he defeated the young Kain's growing empire and manipulated the Humans to take over Nosgoth. During this time, The Device was secretly uncovered and Janos was imprisoned within to feed the Mass, Question and Answer with Amy Hennig at The Lost Worlds (by Ben Lincoln) as the Hylden - disguised as glyph wrights - completed and maintained a glyph magic network that would provide heat, light and to a certain degree protection from vampires (in a similar manner to electricity) to the human population. This network however could also be used as a conduit for the Device. 'Kain:' ''"You say a network? Placed like a web throughout a city?"//'Builder:' "We never completed the network. We never used the Device."//'Kain:' "But the Sarafan Lord will. The Glyphs! He is using the Glyphs to channel the Mass, to wipe out the city, humans and vampires alike! That must be his plan!"''Crystal Dynamics. ''Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript. With his blood used to feed the Mass Beast: "You are ready to descend to the Device. Time grows short. My life…is drawn from me. The Device is alive. You must destroy it."//'Kain:' "What can you tell me of the creature within."//'Beast:' "The slaves speak of it as…The Mass. It has great power…yet it is just an animal. The blood in your veins… will kill it…"//'Kain:' "How do I reach the Device?"//'Beast:' "This passage…will lead you there."//'Kain:' "I will return when the device is destroyed."//'Beast:' "Wait…You must know…your true enemies. My captors. They are not of this world. They control the Glyph magic by which Meridian is enslaved. They pull the strings of the Sarafan while in the disguise of the Glyph Wrights. They are called…the Hylden….And their leader is, of course –"//'Kain:' "– The Sarafan Lord."//'Beast:' "They are powerful creatures, Kain. You will encounter them below. Beware their magic. Now, find the Mass…Destroy the Device." Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript. Janos devolved into a Beast form. Janos: "Not dead, but imprisoned in this place. My blood was needed to power the device, and feed the Mass within. Starved of blood and sapped of life, I devolved into that horrible creature. The moment you poisoned the Mass, I felt my strength return. That which is divine cannot be wholly suppressed""'' Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript. When Kain returned he learned of the Device from Sebastian and was transported to the Device by the Seer . Inside Kain found 'the Beast', who told him that the Device was too great for him to destroy alone and advised him to seek the Builder in the Eternal Prison. Kain: "I am here to destroy the device."//'Beast:' "Yes. Yes, I can help you, then.That which you seek is too great for you to destroy alone. It descends far underground, it rivals a city in its size. To destroy the device, you must seek out the being that built it."//'Kain:' "The Sarafan Lord?"//'Beast:' "No, no, it is older, far older. Those who dwelt in Nosgoth eons ago left some structures in their passing. The device is one. The Sarafan Lord discovered how to use it. Only the Builder can make it stop."//'Kain:' "Do you mean to tell me that this being still lives? Impossible."//'Beast:' "He is…listen to me. There is a place in Nosgoth, far to the north, where time means nothing, where hours and years are frozen for eternity. The Eternal Prison. The wretches imprisoned there pay for their crimes for eternity. The builder is there."''Crystal Dynamics. ''Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript. "'''Kain:' "And if this builder refuses my help?"//'Beast:' "Tell him you wish to destroy the device. Believe me, he will aid you."//'Kain:' "I hope, for your sake, that what you have told me is true."//'Beast:' "You may believe me. Destroying the device…will free me…at last. I will be in your debt, Kain" Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript. Kain discovered the Builder and when informed that Kain was seeking to destroy the Device, the Builder was eager to help. Kain: "I seek a prisoner in this place, a builder. He created a large Device that lies below the city of Meridian."//'Builder:' "Seek no further. I am he."//'Kain:' "How fortunate. I intend to destroy this Device. I was told only you can tell me how."//'Builder:' "I can indeed help you, but in return I need an end to my suffering."//'Kain:' "Tell me of the Device and I will grant you any request within my power."''Crystal Dynamics. ''Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript. The Builder explained the history of the Device and the role of the Mass and the uncompleted conduit network in the functioning of the Device, prompting Kain to realize that the Sarafan Lord (or more specifically, the glyph wrights) had completed the network in the guise of providing Glyph magic to Meridian's (and Nosgoth's) population. Builder: "If this is indeed true, you must act quickly. It would be too large a task to destroy the Device itself. You must kill The Mass itself."//'Kain:' "You said this creature was eternal."//'Builder:' "It has a simple weakness. Blood is like poison to its system. And not any blood, but pure blood from the Elder races. My blood. My blood will poison and kill the creature. Drink from me, vampire, and use my life’s blood to kill that which I created, out of arrogance and pride. Kill me so that the Mass will die, and the Device will be destroyed!"''Crystal Dynamics. ''Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript. The Builder informed Kain his only hope now was to destroy the Mass itself and revealed that the creature suffered from a simple weakness; the Blood of the Elder Races was poisonous to it and would kill the creature. Granting the Builder the 'release' he desired, Kain killed the Builder and drank his Blood. Kain: "You have suffered here an eternity, poor wretch. I will grant you release from your prison, I will carry your blood in my veins, and I will bring the Sarafan Lord’s plans tumbling before him." (~Kain tears into the Builder's throat. The Builder collapses, dead.~) Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript. "'''Beast:' "I sense…a change in you. You found the Builder."//'Kain:' "You are perceptive. He gave me his blood as a gift. I gave in return the gift he most wanted; death." Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript. When Kain returned to the Device in Chapter 9, 'The Beast' noted the change in him, sensing the Builder's blood in his veins and told him to use it to kill the Mass but also warned him of the Hylden he would face and how they pulled the strings of the Sarafan Order. Kain descended into the Device, eventually reaching the Mass's Chamber at the core of the device and using a series of elevators he was able to reach a 'feeding' platform above the Mass . Slitting his own wrist, Kain let a few drops of the Builder's blood drip into the 'feeding tube' poisoning the Mass, which quickly shriveled and ruptured as the creature died. Kain: "At last, I had found it; the foul Mass, hidden within the bowls of the Device. Here was the Sarafan Lord’s ultimate weapon – his trump card, to be played against human and vampire alike. But I had my own weapon. I could feel the Builder’s blood course coldly through my veins. If I could use it to poison this creature, the Sarafan Lord’s plans would be ruined." (~Kain takes a series of lifts up to a platform overhanging the mouth of the creature and cuts his wrist. After shedding only a few drops of blood, the whole chamber begins to tremble violently, and the Mass begins to rupture.~) Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript. With the death of the Mass, the Device was rendered useless and with Janos was no longer drained to feed it he was able to return to his usual form and escape with Kain to Sanctuary. "A few drops of Kain's blood are all it takes to poison the "mass." The cavern starts to shake with the death throes of the creature. Kain manages to escape as things fall apart around him.//Back in the chamber upstairs, the wretched creature who was being held prisoner is nowhere to be seen. In its place, Kain sees Janos, an ancient vampire thought to be dead. With the "mass" destroyed, he has reverted to his true form." Prima Games. Prima's Official Strategy Guide to Blood Omen 2 (2002). Page 78. ISBN 0-7615-3774-0 Notes *The origins of the 'eternal' Mass are ultimately left unexplained in Blood Omen 2, it could presumably have been captured or created by the Hylden and the Builder may imply that latter when he tells Kain to "use my life’s blood to kill that which I created, out of arrogance and pride". The race of the creature is also not disclosed and it is probably unique. Arguably the inhabitant of Nosgoth that closest resembles the Mass is the similarly unique Elder God. *It is not certain whether the Builder's blood was necessarily needed to poison the Mass ; the rate he consumed Hylden Blood in Chapter 9:the Device may have meant that it was ordinary (post-banishment) HyldenBlood that Kain used, rather than the specified "pure blood from the Elder Races", The Builder at Dark Chronicle (by Marie Tryhorn). indeed Ancient Vampire Janos Audron was imprisoned asthe Beast in the upper chambers of the Device, being drained to feed the Mass . * BO2-TD-HyldenFetusConveyer.png BO2-TD-HyldenFetusConveyer2.png BO2-TD-HyldenFetusMixer.png BO2-MassFeedingTube.png BO2-MassPit.png Along with feeding on the blood of Janos, the Mass appears to be fed in another manner by the 'genetic engineering' in the Device. One conveyor belt carries canisters which seem to contain Hylden (or at least green humanoid) fetuses. These canisters are seen throughout the later portion of the level and are eventually seen piled by the Mass' feeding tube (suggesting they are fed on by the Mass), red 'used' versions of the canisters are seen in the Mass' pit. Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002). *The inspiration behind The Mass may have some Lovecraftian origins. An H.P. Lovecraft source recognizes one blood draining being, Yog-Whateley , from "The Dunwich Horror ." This being's conception was part of a ploy to free The Great Old Ones to reclaim the earth. He was later banished back to the realm of his father, Yog-Sothoth , who resembles the Elder God in more than just appearances. The original design team has neither confirmed nor denied this bridge of ideas, but there are some similarities to note. See also * The Mass at Dark Chronicle (by Marie Tryhorn). *The Device * The Device at Dark Chronicle (by Marie Tryhorn). 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